Water is a necessity of life. Rain, especially, helps plants grow and stay green. But too much rain, especially in cities, can lead to flooding. That can cause waste water systems to overflow and send pollutants into rivers and other waterways. To fight the problem, several cities in the United States are starting programs like rooftop gardens.
A team at the University of the District of Columbia in the nation's capital has created a garden on the top of one school building. The garden holds many kinds of plants to help absorb rainwater and grow food at the same time. Architect David Bell has designed five "green roofs" for the university. He says he is excited about the project because "it meant doing something more than just dealing with storm water management. It took advantage of a resource above the city and these flat roofs that aren't doing anything really became something that was about urban agriculture. " Rainwater is collected in large containers and sent through a system that waters the rooftop garden. The roof is filled with green life that appeals to insects.
In cities, “you don't have that many spaces to choose from and so rooftops are just (unused) space," says Caitlin Arlotta. She is a student in the school's Urban Agriculture program. The project is part of a research program to see which plants do well on rooftops. The researchers are looking at plants including strawberries, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. The university also has other green spaces. "We also have our own farm experiments," Arlotta said. “ Within each of those growing systems, we want to be able to tell people which sorts of these crops grow the best. "
Sandy Farber Bandier helps run UDC's Master Gardener program. It seeks to improve cities and make them beautiful by training people to become Master Gardeners. She says she's been surprised by the garden's output. ”My biggest surprise was that we produced 4, 250 pounds of produce the first year and was able to spread that to people in need. " She also likes being able to show people who live in D. C. and others beyond the nation's capital what and how food can be grown on a rooftop. “This is the future for food. You grow it here, you prepare it in a commercial kitchen, you distribute through farmers markets,food trucks, and then you recycle. "
1.What do we know about the rooftop gardens?
A.Rooftop gardens are very common in average neighborhoods.
B.There are many sorts of plants there which help take in rainwater.
C.They're playing an important role in the city's food supply.
D.Rooftop gardens are no more than containers to collect rainwater.
2.What can we infer from Paragraph 3?
A.Rooftops can offer enough space to plant crops.
B.Many plants like strawberries can grow well on rooftops.
C.Some univercity students are participating in the Urban Agriculture program.
D.The plants in rooftop gardens are attractive to many insects.
3.How does Sandy Farber Bandier feel about the future of rooftop gardens?
A.Confident.
B.Doubtful.
C.Worried.
D.Ambiguous.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A.Rainwater Necessity for Plant Life
B.Green Roofs-The Future of Urban Agriculture
C.The United States' Agriculture Program
D.Rooftop Gardens-Food Paradise
In 1953，a mountain climber reported seeing a bar-headed goose soar over the peak of Mount Everest (珠穆朗玛 ). It was thought impossible. Now researchers who raised 19 of the geese—named for the black stripes on the backs of their heads—have shown the birds really fly so high.
The team trained the youngsters to fly in a large wind tunnel wearing backpacks and face masks full of sensors that recorded their heart rate. blood oxygen levels, temperature, and metabolic rate—how many calories they burned per hour. The researchers simulated(模拟)10w-, medium-, and high-altitude conditions by altering the concentration of oxygen supplied to face masks worn by each goose as it flew in the tunnel.
Birds already have a better heart and lungs than mammals for sustained physical activity. And researchers knew that bar-headed geese have even larger, thinner lungs that let them breathe more deeply and an even bigger heart to pump more oxygen to muscles than other birds.
The wind tunnel experiments showed that when the concentration of oxygen was at its lowest-like the 7% found on top of Mount Everest versus 21% at sea level—the geese's heart rate and frequency of wing beats remained the same even as their metabolic rate dropped. Somehow, the birds managed to cool down their blood-the measured blood temperature droppedso it could take in more oxygen, the researchers report today in eLife. This cooling likely helps compensate for the very thin air, the team says.
Although well trained, the birds were only willing to stay in the air a few minutes-or Iesswhen wearing their backpacks and flying at 6ihigh" altitudes. So it's not clear whether these adaptations alone are what make it possible to fly the 8 hours it takes to climb over Mount Everest. But those few minutes showed these geese really could fly over the top of Mount Everest.
1.Why did the researchers raise 19 bar-headed geese and train them?
A.To test the flying height and speed of them.
B.To confirm they could fly over Mount Everest.
C.To observe them flying through the wind tunnel.
D.To see how many calories they burned per hour.
2.What can we learn from the wind tunnel experinent?
A.It was carried out at very high altitude.
B.The geese managed to breathe less when their blood decreased.
C.The geese could live through the lowest concentration of oxygen.
D.It shows the geese could fly at high altitude for long.
3.What still puzzles scientists about the geese?
A.Whether they have super hearts and lungs.
B.Whether they have muscles pumped more oxygen to.
C.Whether they are willing to wear backpacks and face masks.
D.Whether they can manage to fly 8 hours to climb over Mount Everest.
4.Where does the text most probably come from?
A.A science fiction.
B.A climbing guide.
C.A travel brochure.
D.A science report.
Brandon Olsen and Tylor Fritz of Hometown Sanitation (公共卫生) left gifts for three sisters who waved to them each Thursday after learning that one of them, 3-year-old Rose, had been fighting cancer.
The men also gave their parents free garbage service for one year.
“When they did that, it was a few weeks before the diagnosis (诊断) when every day just felt so impossible,” said Rose's mother, Angie Evenson, of Blue Earth, Minnesota. “Nothing in reality changes Rose’s diagnosis. But what they did makes us feel we are truly not alone in this fight.”
With binoculars (双筒望远镜) in hand, Rose and her two sisters, Grace, 5 and Sophia, 2 sat by the window and waved at their garbage men, Olsen and Fritz, as they drove by on their weekly route.
Olsen, 29, and Fritz, 24, told ABC News that the girl’s smiling faces are what they look forward to while working. They even left Halloween candy for the girls this year to show their appreciation. They hope that more and more people can understand and support their work.
But weeks later, Evenson wrote Olsen and Fritz a note explaining that little Rose wouldn’t be able to wave to them for a while since she'd be undergoing chemotherapy (化疗). Rose had been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer in September.
“As a father of three, it changed my outlook on things,” Olsen said. “It opened my eyes…you don’t know what someone else is going through.”
Fritz said he cried when he read the note. “I got to the chemo part and there were tears running down my face,” he recalled. “I don’t have any children of my own, but I can imagine if someone very close to me is diagnosed as cancer, I’ll be heartbroken.”
“Rose is being treated at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She will miss a few more Thursdays, when she can wave to her garbage men, but her chemo sessions will be switched to Mondays soon and she’ll be back by the window early next year. I have confidence in Rose’s recovery.” her mother said.
1.How did the garbage men help Rose’s family?
A.They took the sick girl to hospital regularly.
B.They collected the garbage for free.
C.They looked after Rose in turn.
D.They offered money to help cure Rose.
2.What can we learn about the garbage men?
A.They made the family famous. B.They encouraged the family.
C.They gave Angie Evenson a good lesson. D.They doubted about the doctor’s diagnosis.
3.What do the garbage men wish for in terms of the girls’ smiling faces?
A.People’s appreciation for their work.
B.Good friendship with the young girls.
C.Making more efforts to do their work well.
D.The girls’ family’s caring more for their children.
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A.Olsen has three sons. B.Fritz has not got married.
C.Fritz is faced with a serious disease. D.Evenson is optimistic about Rose’s condition.
The Outdoor City Adventure Book Festival
For one week in July, Sheffield Central Library becomes the center of adventure in the Outdoor City. Check out some of the events. Most of them are free but early booking is recommended.
July 10
Bee Quest - A Hunt for the World's Most Elusive (难以捕捉的) Bees Central library Carpenter Room, 7 : 008 : 30pm.
A hunt for the world's most elusive bees leads Professor Dave Goulson from Poland to Patagonia, deep into the Ecuadorian Jungle. He also explores closer to home.
Among secret places hidden right under our noses and through his scientific expertise (专业知识), shows us that beauty hides in the most surprising places.
July 11
Clarion Call: A Heartfelt Tribute to Sheffield' s Access Pioneers
Central I.ibrary Carpenter Room, l0 : 30-11 : 30am.
Well-known walker, activist and campaigner, Terry Howard takes us back a hundred years and shares the story of the role Sheffielders played in the first fights for our right to freely walk on the Peak District moors (旷野). The Clarion Ramblers is thought to be the first working class walking club. This is the story of their important role in gaining us the access we all enjoy today.
July 12
The Wainwrights in Color Central Library Carpenter Room, I : 302 : 30pm.
Inspired by the work of the great Alfred Wainwright, over 10 years Andy Beck has reproduced in watercolor all l, 500 pictures drawn in A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. Andy speaks about how the scenes in the Lake District have changed during the last 50 years.
July 13
Craft (制作) Your Own Adventure Journal-A Workshop Central Library Reading Room, 2 : 00-3 : 00 pm,￡5.
Learn paper craft techniques to make your own beautiful travel journal. Get advice from our expert tutor on using old photos adventures and holidays.
Collecting stories and memories from your.
1.Which event should you choose if you're interested in bees?
A.Bee Quest.
B.Clarion Call.
C.The Wainwrights in Color.
D.Craft Your Own Adventure Journal.
2.What day is the right time to share the story of Sheffielders?
A.July 10.
B.July 11.
C.July 12.
D.July 13.
3.What is special about Craft Your Own Adventure Journal?
A.It lasts the longest.
B.It needs reservation.
C.It calls for admission charges.
D.It offers the most interesting stories.
假如你是李华，你们学校下周将举办成人仪式典礼，校长要求每个同学写一封信给自己的父母，信的内容大致如下：
1. 成长与收获；
2. 表达感恩；
3. 继续努力。
注意：
1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear dad and mom,
How time flies!
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours loving boy,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
On New Year’s Day I went to a stamp exhibition, what proved to be an unique experience. At 9:30, I arrived at the exhibition with my precious stamp album, eagerly and excited. To my delighted, there gathered crowds of stamp lovers. I joined them immediate and studied the stamps one by one. The artists’ delicate design appealed to me but I wanted to learn more. Then, some of us got together to share with our collections, chatting cheerfully about the stamps. We even told stories behind it like old friends. Time permits, I would have communicated more with the friends. On the whole, not only I appreciate beautiful stamps, but also I made new friends with the same interest. This was really a special celebration for the New Year.
